A Rose Without Thorns
by WWWLover
Summary: A Serious AU story. What if Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were married and had a daughter before Henry married Katherine of Aragon? How would things have changed? Rated T, just in case! Please Read and Review! :
1. Memories of a Princess

"A Rose Without Thorns"

Based on "The Tudors

_**Author's note: This is a serious AU story in which many things happen that did not happen in the show or history. Here are the main ones:**_

_**Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn were married for a very short amount of time before Henry married Katherine of Aragon**_

_**Both Henry and Anne were born in 1501**_

_**Arthur died in 1514 instead of 1502 and Henry divorces Anne – for reasons to be revealed later – and marries Katherine soon after.**_

_**Anne gave birth to Henry's child right before she and Henry got divorced **_

_**The other things that are different I'm sure **__**you will be able to pick out. I hope that you enjoy the story! **_

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England, 1532

Princess Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry Tudor VIII and Queen Katherine of Aragon, sighed as she strolled through the gardens of Ludlow Castle. She spent a lot time in the garden thinking, thinking about her parents, thinking about her father's mistress, Anne Boleyn.

Everyone knew that Henry was going to marry Anne again. Everyone at court was talking about it. Mary could even see it in her father's eyes when he looked at Anne. And, Anne looked at him the same way.

The fact that Henry had already been married to Anne, and that the marriage ended within a year, shocked Mary to no end. How could he be re-falling in love with a woman he had already been married to and divorced from?

She thought of her sister. Sophia. The daughter that Henry had had with Anne when they were still married. Sophia was older than her by a mere year and, although her mother was Anne Boleyn, Mary had always been close to her.

Even after Henry and Anne got divorced, Henry kept Sophia at court. Even when Anne went to France to serve in the French court, Henry kept Sophia near him. Of course, Sophia would visit Anne at least once a year, and Henry would always go with her.

Mary was actually surprised that Katherine never worried about Henry's relationship with his daughter. She was always kind and loving towards Sophia, almost as if she was Sophia's mother. Mary didn't mind, of course, because her parents showed her the same affection that they showed Sophia.

Mary was proud to say that she was best friends with Sophia. They grew up together, playing for hours with their toys, reading together, taking walks together. And, although Sophia was also interested in and could do many things that boys did, Mary always remained close to her.

Mary was surprised when Sophia had voiced her disgust at her parents' behavior. Sophia didn't even think it was right to hear the rumors that Henry wanted to re-marry Anne. It even surprised Mary that Sophia would fight her parents about the issue.

And then, three years earlier, Sophia was sent to Scotland to live with their aunt, Margaret.

Mary knew why and she hated Henry for doing it. Sophia was her closest friend and, now that Henry had disowned both her and her sister, Mary had no one. She wasn't allowed to see her mother, she wasn't allowed to live at court, and now she couldn't even see her best friend. She had lost all contact with the people that she loved.

Mary constantly prayed that Sophia would come up with a plan to get them both back into favor with their father. She constantly prayed that Sophia would, eventually come back to England.

&&&&&

Lady Anne Boleyn thought of her daughter often.

Sophia had been the light of her life for so many years. To think that she had to be sent away pained Anne to no end. She had begged Henry to make Sophia stay, but Henry told her that Sophia wanted to leave that he was going to let her. He didn't want his daughter to be unhappy. He had promised Anne that, if Sophia ever did come back, she would be more than welcome at court.

But, as the years passed, Anne started to believe that Sophia would never come back. And now, as she planned her secret marriage to Henry, she wanted her daughter by her side more than ever.

Her brother, George, had named his niece "The Rebel Princess" shortly after Sophia went to Scotland. And, while this title fit Sophia perfectly, Anne wanted nothing more than to have her rebel back with her.

&&&&&

King Henry Tudor VIII wanted nothing more than to be reconciled with his oldest daughter. She meant more to him than anything else in the world. The day he sent her to Scotland, he cried for hours. He knew that he had to send her away. Sophia had told him many times that she wanted to go away, that she was unhappy living at home. And, like any good father, Henry gave her what she wanted. But it still pained him to do so.

It pained him to send Mary away from court as well. But, Mary had stayed in England. Sophia had not. Sophia was all the way in Scotland, probably having the time of her life with Margaret. He wished that both of his daughters would just give in to accepting the fact that Henry was re-marrying Anne. It would just make things so much easier and it would make him the happiest man in the world.

If only…

&&&&&

Thomas Boleyn almost hated his granddaughter.

There was a point, not too long ago, that Sophia had made everything in his life sparkle. She would make him smile when he came home from court and she was visiting Hever, she would make him smile when he would see her dancing at one of Henry's many parties. She would always make him smile.

But, then she decided to get in the way of his plans.

He had tried many times to get Sophia to see "reason", to see that her parents' getting re-married was a good thing. And, though she was only in her early teens at the time, Sophia wouldn't listen. She had even insulted him, saying "Who is it good for? Them or you? I am already the oldest, legitimate daughter of the King, Grandfather, isn't that enough?"

But, he had been sad when she decided to leave court.

After all, she _was_ his granddaughter.

&&&&&

Charles Brandon and his wife, Princess Mary Rose Tudor, had secretly kept in touch with their niece ever since she left for Scotland. They had learned that, over the years, Sophia had learned many things that she definitely wouldn't have learned at the Tudor Court. Margaret, feeling sorry for her niece, had let Sophia have a lot of freedom.

Charles had often smiled when he thought of the things that Sophia had learned to do in Scotland. Margaret had often had Sophia and her son, James, play together and spend time together doing various different activities. The cousins had become very close and were constantly spending time together. So, Sophia had learned to do many things that other girls of her age and status never even thought of doing.

Mary, or Rose so people wouldn't confuse her with her niece, had always supported Katherine when it came to Henry's impending divorce from her. So, when she found out that Sophia – Anne Boleyn's daughter – was even fighting for Katherine, Rose became very proud. Rose had never liked Anne Boleyn, even when she and Henry were first married, but she had always loved Sophia.

Charles and Rose had thought about going to visit Sophia and Margaret in Scotland, but they never did. They were afraid of what might happen to them if Henry found out that they were going to visit his daughter. So, they stuck to writing to her, and praying that she would come back one day.

&&&&&

George Boleyn missed his niece.

Though he knew that she stood in the way of the family gaining as much power as possible, he still liked it when she was around. She was always fun to be with, even during the years she fought against him before she went to Scotland.

Sophia was smart. She never fought with her family when Henry was throwing a party. During a party, Sophia acted like nothing was wrong between the members of her family, laughing with them and even dancing with them. Though everyone at court knew of the feud that was building between the princess and her family, Sophia still acted like everything was perfect. She wanted the courtiers to forget the drama that was the Royal Family for the short amounts of time that they could.

George had always been close to his niece, ever since she could learn to walk and talk. Even though he had named her "The Rebel Princess" – which many other people now called her. He even heard that Sophia was calling herself that all the way in Scotland – he always admired her for standing up for what she believed in.

Though he knew that it would probably ruin everything that he and his father were planning, George hoped that he could see his niece again.

&&&&&

Queen Katherine of Aragon had been heartbroken when she had learned of Sophia leaving for Scotland. She had treated Sophia as if Sophia was her own daughter. She had tried to write to her, but Henry always intercepted the letters and refused to send them. So, Katherine would get her information on how Sophia was doing secretly through Charles and Rose. And, she was very proud of her stepdaughter.

Now that she was could not see her actual daughter, Mary, Katherine prayed day in and day out that Sophia would make a comeback. Not only did she desperately want to see her stepdaughter again, but she knew that Sophia wouldn't listen to Henry or Anne. She knew that Sophia would do whatever she wanted. And, she knew that Sophia would make it so that Katherine would see Mary again.

Sophia would help her. She knew she would.

* * *

**_I hope you like the beginning of this. I thought it was a creative idea when I came up with it! ;)_**

**_I'm warning everyone right now that this story is still under major work. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up because I want to make sure that the characters are as "in character" as possible. But, there may be some OOC moments, depending on what's going on. I am also trying to make sure that everything makes sense as I write. So, please be patient with me._**

**_I will still be posting chapters for my Cordelia story, since I have the first book in that series completed. I have stumbled onto Writer's Block for Cordelia's sequel, which is when I came up with Sophia. Also, some of the dialogue in the upcoming Sophia chapters may be taken from Cordelia's dialogue. _**

**_Please Read and Review! _**


	2. To Shock A Country

The people gathered when they heard a carriage rumbling down the streets. They began to whisper to each other excitedly when they saw the person inside the carriage. The person smiled at the people and waved to them, showing them their face. The people cheered when they saw the person wave and saw their face through the carriage window.

Lady Elizabeth Darrell, lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine, looked up from the fruit she was buying in confusion when she heard the people cheering. She looked at the carriage rumbling down the street. Her eyes met with the eyes of the person in the carriage. She smiled immediately and the person in the carriage smiled back and winked at her.

Elizabeth, forgetting about the fruit, quickly got into a nearby carriage and headed back to the house that Katherine had been sent to.

She had to tell Katherine this news right away!

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Mary was reading a book in her household when one of her ladies came rushing up to her.

"Yes?" Mary said, putting the book down "What is it? What's wrong?"

The lady, whose name was Hannah, smiled and whispered something into Mary's ear. Mary's eyes widened as she looked at the lady. "You're sure?"

Hannah nodded. "I ran into Lady Darrell in town. She saw her with her own eyes!"

Mary looked at the ground and smiled.

Her prayers had been answered!

&&&&&

Katherine was sitting in front of the fire, a habit that she had formed since she had been sent away from the palace, when Elizabeth came rushing towards her.

"Elizabeth" Katherine said "Where's the fruit you were supposed to buy?"

"I'm sorry, my lady" Elizabeth said "But, something happened in town today that caused me to forget the fruit"

"What is it?" Katherine asked, becoming concerned "What happened?"

"She's back"

Katherine was silent for a moment. "You mean…"

Elizabeth nodded excitedly. "I saw her with my own eyes" she said "She smiled at me and winked at me. She's back! She's finally back!"

Katherine looked at the fire and smiled. "Well, well, Elizabeth" she said "Our fight may not be lost after all"

&&&&&

Thomas Cromwell was in his office going over some papers when a guard came bursting into the room.

"Mr. Cromwell!"

Cromwell sighed. "Yes?"

"You need to come outside" the guard said "We may or may not have a situation"

"How can you not know?" Cromwell asked, slowly standing

"We have a visitor to the palace, requesting an audience with His Majesty and Lady Anne"

"And the problem is…?"

"Look outside"

Cromwell rolled his eyes and turned to look out his window at the carriage waiting near the entrance of the palace. There was a person standing with some guards outside the carriage. Cromwell's eyes widened.

"Bring them in" Cromwell said "I'll go get the King and Lady Anne"

The guard nodded as both he and Cromwell hurried out of Cromwell's office.

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Charles looked at the court in confusion as he headed to the King's throne room. Everyone was whispering to each other. He spotted Mark Smeaton, the Court Musician, and Thomas Wyatt, the Court Poet, whispering to each other amongst the crowd of courtiers. He walked up to them.

"Do you two know what's going on?"

"We have heard rumors, Your Grace" Wyatt replied "That Cromwell is quite shaken up by a visitor to court"

"Who is the visitor?" Charles asked

"No one knows" Mark replied "That's why everyone is whispering to each other. They think…they think…"

"They think that it might be the princess" Wyatt said "They think that she has made a return to England"

Charles almost laughed. "If she ever does come back to England, I would be truly shocked!"

"Your Grace" Cromwell said, hurrying up to the three men "If you would, please come to the throne room"

Charles nodded and then nodded to Wyatt and Mark. Wyatt and Mark watched as Cromwell led Charles to the throne room.

"The Royal Family knows nothing" Mark whispered "Look! Cromwell has gathered all of them in there. He has even had Rose come back to court, and she was supposed to be going back to Suffolk today!"

Wyatt nodded. "Which is why I think that she has returned" he said "Why else would Cromwell ask Rose to come to court? Especially when he knows that Rose is already angry with Henry to begin with because he wants to re-marry Anne"

"What would it mean if she did come back?" Mark asked

"I don't know" Wyatt said "But, I would like to find out"

&&&&&

Henry and Anne were sitting on their thrones, looking at their family gathered before them. Boleyn and George were standing near Anne, while Rose and Charles stood near Henry.

"Cromwell, what is going on?" Henry asked "Why have you gathered us all here?"

"Your Majesty, my lords and ladies," Cromwell said "You have a visitor"

"A visitor?" Anne said "Well, this must be an important visitor, Mr. Cromwell, if you have gathered us all here"

"It is" Cromwell said "If you would be so kind as to wait here, I will go and bring the visitor to you"

Henry replied with a nod as Cromwell left the room. After he left, the Royal Family started whispering to each other.

"Who do you think it could be?" Charles whispered to his wife

Rose shrugged. "Another royal?" she said "Someone from one of the other courts?"

"But, why then would Cromwell gather all of us together?"

"Charles, I don't know!" Rose said "Why don't we wait and find out?"

Boleyn whispered to George. "If Cromwell gathered us here for no reason, I will not be happy"

"I'm sure he has a good reason, Father" George replied "He is hardly ever like this. It must be something important"

"It better be" Boleyn said.

George resisted rolling his eyes at Boleyn.

"Do you know what this is about?" Anne asked her fiancé

Henry shrugged. "I don't know, sweetheart" he said "I'm as baffled as you are"

Just then, loud whispers could be heard throughout the hall. The Royal Family turned to find Cromwell coming towards the throne room with a hooded figured behind him.

The figure was dressed in the finest clothes and the finest jewels. The hood covered the figure's face, but the Royal Family could tell that the figure's eyes were staring at the ground.

"What in the world?" Anne said, her eyes narrowing in confusion

"Sweetheart…" Henry said, staring at the hooded figure, wide eyed "Isn't that the ring that we gave to Sophia before she left? That ruby one with the diamonds on her left hand?"

Anne took a closer look. Her eyes widened. "My God…it is!"

Cromwell and the figure stepped into the throne room. The figure walked into the middle of the room and stood there for a moment while Cromwell spoke.

"Your Majesty, my lords and ladies, I would like to present to you…"

The figure pulled back the hood covering their face. The Royal Family gasped, as did the rest of the court who was watching from the hall. She raised her head so that she was looking straight at Henry and Anne.

Dark, chocolate brown hair tumbled down across her shoulders. Her dark, brown eyes looked into those of Anne and Henry's shocked blue ones.

The other courtiers started whispering to each other, not taking their eyes off of the throne room and the people inside, waiting to see what would happen next.

"See?" Wyatt said to Mark, from their spot in the hall "I knew it! I knew it was her!"

Mark smiled. "She's back!" he said "She's made her return!"

Henry stared at her in awe. It was as if an angel had come down from heaven. She was beautiful. A perfect combination of both of her parents' beauty. Henry's heart filled with happiness at the sight of his angel.

Anne's eyes filled with tears at the sight of her. She couldn't help but smile at the girl standing before them. "My God…"

Boleyn and George's mouths dropped open in shock at the sight of her.

Rose and Charles were shocked, but smiles slowly spread across their faces as Cromwell announced her name.

"…Princess Sophia Maria Tudor"

* * *

**_Sorry for the late update!_**

**_Hope that you like this chapter!_**

**_Please Read and Review! _**


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